Old rivals ready for clash that's been 10 years in making

IT'S been 10 years in the making, but finally MK Dons and AFC Wimbledon will get to settle an old score when they clash for the first time in round one of the FA Cup on the weekend of December 1.

The history between the clubs goes back to 2002 when the then Wimbledon relocated 90km north to Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire and became the MK Dons, a move that was hugely unpopular with fans and football supporters generally.

Some of those disillusioned Wimbledon fans formed a new club in nearby Kingston-upon-Thames, starting off in the ninth tier of English football.

Nine seasons and five promotions later, AFC Wimbledon will get to play its former self for the first time, although many of its fans have vowed not to travel to Buckinghamshire for the game in protest at the fact MK Dons even exists.

Many of those fans have waged a campaign for several years aimed at getting MK Dons to drop the Dons connection to the former Wimbledon from its name.

In 2006, MK Dons relinquished the club's connection to anything that happened before 2004, but retained the Dons part of its name.